Sunday, November 6, 2011

Washington D.C. Area Sports Update 11/06/2011

MORGAN STATE HOLDS OFF BOWIE STATE 66-50 IN WOMEN’S EXHIBITION

(BALTIMORE, Md. – November 5, 2011) The Bowie State University Lady Bulldogs basketball team started slow, battled back in the second half, but came up short dropping a 66-50 exhibition to the Lady Bears of Morgan State University. Though the team took the tough loss, they had an impressive performance against their tough NCAA Division I opponents.

The Lady Bulldogs gave a good overall effort against their opponents, despite shooting 30% from the field (18-of-60). Morgan State shot slightly better, hitting 39% of their field goals (22-of-56). Senior forward Kimberly Jones (Upper Marlboro, Md. / Allegany C.C.) led the effort for the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points while sophomore forward Chanet Wallace (Baltimore, Md. / Westside Skills Center) and fellow sophomore Brooke Miles (Upper Marlboro, Md. / National Christian Academy) added 13 and 10 points respectively. Wallace and senior Juliette Turner (Atlanta, Ga. / John F. Kennedy HS) led Bowie State will nine rebounds each. Jones and Wallace blocked a game-high two blocks each for the Lady Bulldogs.

Bowie State trailed 31-18 after the first period of play, making just six-of-30 first half field goals. The Lady Bulldogs closed the deficit to seven twice in the second half with the last coming with 5:22 remaining and the Lady Bears leading 52-45.

Morgan State paraded to the free throw line over the final five minutes of play, making seven of 10 freebies down the stretch. Tracey Carrington paced the Lady Bears with a game-high 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Amarah Williams chipped in 16 points and Omara Parker hauled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Lady Bears.

Bowie State will open the 2011-12 season next weekend when the team heads to Shepherdstown, W.Va. to take on Seton Hill in a 2:00 p.m. game hosted by Shepherd University.

LATE PENALTIES COSTLY IN BOWIE STATE’S 38-35 LOSS TO CHOWAN

(BOWIE, Md. – November 5, 2011) Late game penalties kill Bowie State comeback as the Chowan Hawks edge Bowie State 38-35 on 31-yard field goal by Ryan Murphy with seven seconds left in season finale for both teams. Chowan ends the season at 3-7 overall (2-5 CIAA) and Bowie State wraps up the year with a 4-6 overall record (3-4 CIAA).

Cameron Stover completed 23-of-35 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Hawks. Stover’s primary target was Robert Holland who led all receivers with 139 yard on 16 catches and was the recipient of all three TD passes.

The Hawks were led on defense by Jason Ampy with eight total tackles and Anthony Session, DaKorio DeSamme and Patrick Charles were credited with six tackles each.

Senior Clifton Budd paced the Bowie State Bulldogs with 100 all-purpose yards (11 rushing, 33 receiving and 56 return yards). Budd completed his final game in a Bulldogs uniform completing 11-of-20 passes. Senior quarterback Andre Johnson came off the bench to lead the Bowie State ground game with 84 rushing yards and one touchdown. Johnson also completed 10-of-17 passes for 78 yards and three second half touchdowns.

Senior Marcelus Manear had a career afternoon, tying for team-high tackles with eight to equal junior Bekewele Amadi.

Bowie State closed out the game with 335 total offensive yards and Chowan was right behind them with 315 total offensive yards. Penalties plagued Bowie State all season, and today was no exception. BSU’s Bulldogs’ tied their season-high of 15 penalties resulting in a school-record 215 yards.

Prior to the game 13 seniors (Reginald Berry, Clifton Budd, Terrance Hemsley, Kevin James, Andre Johnson, Delano Johnson, Tariq Jones, Marcelus Manear, Seth Minter, Matthew Odezugo, James Proctor, Kenneth Turner and Maurice Wilson) were honored with pictured plaques as a token of appreciation for their time as Bulldogs football players.

A lot is being made of Virginia Tech having extra time to prepare for the Georgia Tech offense. A bye week is considered a good thing in this situation, and it certainly will help the Hokies get healthier. However, their recent results suggest that a bye week does not help them prepare better for the next opponent.

Hokies After a Bye Week, Last Six Games

Year Opp. Result Total Offense

2006 BC 22-3 L 181

2007 BC 14-10 L 265

2008 BC 28-23 L 240

2008 Maryland 23-13 W 400

2009 UNC 20-17 L 256

2010 GT 28-21 W 335

The Hokies have lost four of their last six games following a bye week. Their only wins came over a 6-7 Georgia Tech team in 2010, and an average Maryland team in 2008. Tech's offense has failed miserably in five of those six games, with their only 400 yard game coming in 2008 when Darren Evans rushed for a school record 253 yards.

All of those games were Thursday night games, and they've all but destroyed the myth that Virginia Tech was unbeatable in Thursday night games. On the contrary, the Hokies have played some of their worst football games on Thursday nights in recent years, particularly the offense.

In the past, Virginia Tech used to completely flatten teams when the Hokies were coming off a bye week.

Hokies After a Bye Week,

Previous Five Games

Year Opp. Result Total
Offense

2005 Virginia 52-14 W 503

2005 Maryland 28-9 W 497

2004 Maryland 55-6 W 376

2004 Georgia Tech 34-20 W 446

2004 Western Michigan 63-0 W 487

Tech won those games by an average of about five touchdowns, and they also averaged 461.8 yards of total offense in the process. Granted, the competition wasn't great. Western Michigan was a cupcake, and Maryland's 2004 team finished with a losing record. Even with the level of competition considered, it can't be argued that Tech hasn't been anywhere near as good following a bye week since the 2006 season.

Part of it is talent level. The Hokies struggled in 2006, 2007 and 2008 because they were not a good offensive football team in those years. It didn’t matter whether Tech had a bye or not, and it generally didn't even matter what team they were playing. Virginia Tech wasn't going to move the ball, and they weren't going to have a lot of high scoring, impressive victories.

However, the Hokies did have pretty good offenses in 2009 and 2010, and they were still very limited offensively against North Carolina (loss) and Georgia Tech (win).

Tech's 2011 offense, statistically speaking, is their best since the Michael Vick era. The Hokies have gained 400+ yards in each of the last four games, and that's the first time that has happened since the 1999 season. Tech certainly has the talent to put up good numbers offensively. With a few extra days to prepare, they'll have no excuse not to play well against Georgia Tech next week.

The Hokies will need their offense to play well, because Georgia Tech is a very good offensive football team that is going to be difficult to stop. Let's hope the bye week is kinder to Virginia Tech this week than it has been in recent years.

The Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL) is proud to announce that it has expanded into the nation's capital, welcoming the new D.C. Grays as its tenth team in one of the country's premiere summer wood-bat college-level baseball leagues.

The Grays will play its home games at the newly-renovated baseball stadium, Hoy Field, at Gallaudet University in Northeast Washington, D.C., and will work with Gallaudet on a major new youth baseball outreach program for children in the District. The team, which boasts an ownership group that includes African-American representation, will also work to make sure that its roster includes a number of black college ballplayers. The team will do promotions and community events that celebrate the history of baseball in Washington D.C. The name chosen for the team evokes the memory of the Homestead Grays - the great Negro League champion team that played in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s and 40s.

The Grays will be the tenth team in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, which is made up of teams from the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metropolitan region and feature amateur players from colleges and universities around the country. The Cal Ripken League, founded in 2005, is quickly becoming a 'destination point' for collegiate players as one of the top summer wood bat leagues in the country.

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